The present invention relates to smoke detectors, and more particularly to a device that turns off a smoke detector, but gives a visual indication that the detector has been turned off.
The majority of households are today fitted with smoke detectors of one type or another. Perhaps the most common smoke detector is a simple battery operated unit which is generally mounted on the ceiling in a passage, hallway, staircase or the like, in a location where there is at least a partial air flow sothat if a fire does occur, smoke will be monitored by the smoke detector, and a signal given. Most smoke detectors have a horn or buzzer which sounds when the smoke is detected. The detector system may include ionization type detectors to detect smoke or gas, as well as heat detectors which sound the alarm when a preset temperature is reached. The battery ensures that the detector operates even in the event of a power failure.
These types of smoke detectors are sold in hardware stores, department stores, and the like, and some households have two or three units at different locations in the house, apartment or living areas. Hotels, offices, and public buildings usually have multiple units with monitoring heads in different rooms; however, the present invention relates more to a single smoke detector, rather than a multiple unit.
One problem that exists with the single unit smoke detector and is apparent in households is the difficulty in resetting the smoke detector alarm after it has gone off due to a false signal. False signals occur from time to time primarily when cooking occurs, for instance, burnt toast can produce sufficient smoke to set off a smoke detector, deep frying cooking can also set off an alarm, as well as other types of cooking that occur regularly in a household. Once the alarm on the smoke detector commences, it can continue for up to a half hour before the mechanism of the detecting device resets itself. Thus, the household has to put up with this alarm for as long as a half hour, and this is generally considered intolerable. In most cases, householders disconnect the smoke detector, and this has to be done by climbing up and disconnecting the battery from the smoke detector in the ceiling. Whereas there is an incentive to climb up and disconnect the battery because of the noise from the detector itself, once the battery has been disconnected, it is often forgotten and not reconnected. Therefore, the smoke detector is inoperative and stays in that condition until someone remembers to reconnect the battery. Thus, the whole purpose of a smoke detector is destroyed because it has been disconnected for a false alarm and then not reconnected.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an indicator wherein a smoke detector is disconnected temporarily, and when it is in the off position a visual indicator clearly shows that it is disconnected. When the particular smoke condition that triggered the alarm is dispersed, the indicator can be clearly seen, and the smoke detector reconnected.